SoundCloud was founded in 2007 in Sweden and has grown into one of the most popular and largest music streaming platforms on the net. SoundCloud has proven popular with creators and listeners with an estimated 300 million plus tracks and thousands of hours of new music added daily.
In 2020, SoundCloud’s revenue was $218 million. Despite the pandemic, the recorded music industry saw significant growth. The independent artist market saw revenue grow by 34%. And artists can now monetize their music through platforms such as SoundCloud.
How much do musicians make on SoundCloud, and can they increase revenues by widening their audience?
Can you make money on SoundCloud?
There is no doubt that money can be made on SoundCloud, but how and how much?
There is more than one way to get paid by SoundCloud, but one of the most common ways is through ‘plays’. Every time music is streamed it contributes to an artist’s revenue. As users on SoundCloud can build followings as they can on Instagram, it makes sense that the more followers, the more times a creator’s music will be streamed.
Artists require more followers on SoundCloud to increase the number of times their music is played. This has two benefits, one is that revenue will be increased, and the other is that popular music is more likely to attract extra followers and plays.
How can you get more plays and followers?
Organic growth on social media is the accepted best practice for developing an interested audience. Reaching out to people with similar tastes on Instagram can result in you being followed back. SoundCloud works similarly.
Yet, growing an audience on a music streaming site packed with other artists can be tricky. Music production has changed, and musicians are now creating professional work in their homes with DAWs and laptops. So much so that there are between 20 and 30 million content creators on SoundCloud alone.
As growing a following organically can take time, many artists buy followers and plays. Fake accounts generally stand out and are easy to spot, so services that provide genuine engagement are needed. When this happens, plays will increase, the music will seem more popular, and it will attract more listeners. Through this, artist revenue will increase and can lead to extra sales and brand growth.
How much does SoundCloud pay its creators?
It was announced recently that SoundCloud is reducing its workforce by 20% worldwide. This has been blamed on the challenging economy and heavy inflation being experienced around the globe.
However, there are still several revenue streams available to artists on SoundCloud, and little has changed in how creators are paid.
SoundCloud pays a 55% revenue share for music streamed on the platform. This means that out of every $1,000 made, SoundCloud will keep $450. Not only this, only certain artists can qualify to make revenue through plays.
To be eligible, a creator must hold a Pro or Pro Unlimited membership and have at least 500 plays the previous month. Unfortunately, those plays have to come from certain countries.
Music brings in between $0.0025 to $0.04 per stream, so 1,000 plays will earn the artist up to $4. As only a small selection of countries will earn an artist any revenue, new followers must come from those nations.
Using bots or fake accounts is pointless because only certain nationalities are counted when plays are added up for revenue.
What other revenue streams are available to artists on SoundCloud?
Other ways to make money through SoundCloud are from advertising. Adverts can be embedded into music streams or shown on the platform. This is one way extra for artists to increase their revenue.
The last way is to sell music on SoundCloud. Innovation is changing the music industry, and streaming and downloads have primarily replaced physical recordings. Selling music on SoundCloud is possible, as is using links to take followers to an external storefront where recordings can be bought and downloaded.
Can an artist become successful through SoundCloud?
Of course, on the outside, an artist could always be discovered on SoundCloud. Talent scouts use SoundCloud and other social media to find new talent.
As proof that is possible, Post Malone, Billie Eilish, Lizzo, and Lil Nas X, all found success through the SoundCloud platform. And they did so by growing their followers and creating quality music.
Summary
Followers are an essential part of creating revenue from SoundCloud. Buying followers is not without risks, but it is a proven way to give a new profile a kickstart. A genuine growth service can help to increase any artist’s followers and thus receive more plays and sales.
Once followers are added, others will come naturally, and an artist could, in theory, grow revenue through their work on SoundCloud.
